21 Questions
by Flywheel Shyster and Flywheel
Summary: I'll ask 21 questions and they all about us. 21 questions - 21 glimpses into Double-D and Marie's lives.
1. I

**You drive me crazy shorty I**  
**Need to see you and feel you next to me**  
**I provide everything you need and I**  
**Like your smile I don't wanna see you cry**  
**Got some questions that I got to ask and I**  
**Hope you can come up with the answers babe**

* * *

**I**

_**Girl... It's easy to love me now  
**__**Would you love me if I was down and out?  
**__**Would you still have love for me?**_

* * *

'_The water looks cold._' He was standing on a bridge. Right between the two edges.

He was ready. He could do this. He had prepared for a while now. To end this pain, the suffering that everyday life brought to him, that the people in his life brought him... The mere thought exhilarated him to the point of sending shivers down his spine.

The plan was perfect. He had swiped the prescription pills from his mother's bathroom cabinet, she surely wouldn't miss them. He would swallow them and then jump into the Creek so it would seem like he had just drowned.

He had contemplated writing a note but decided against it; if they didn't feel guilt over the way they treated him now, why would he want them to feel it when he wasn't around to enjoy it?

Looking down at the whiskey bottle in his right hand and his left fist holding the pills, he sighed. It was time.

'_Here we go..._' He took a step to the edge of the bridge and brought the fist up to his mouth, tears in his eyes. Tears of fear but also of relief; joy. His index finger separated from the rest of his hand. Followed by his middle finger, the first of fifteen pills threatening to fall. He could almost feel the pharmaceutics rain down on his tongue when he was interrupted by a voice.

"Hey cutie pie." Marie Kanker was certainly one of the reasons why this was a relief. The constant chases, the inability to take no for an answer. If that was the kind of women to be attracted to him, what sort of man was he?

"Go away Marie." His voice was hoarse and gravelly; he had snuck into his father's study, stealing a pack of cigarettes and the bottle of whiskey to help calm his by then panicking survival instincts. Half the bottle was downed within the first five minutes, the pack half empty within thirty minutes. He had never smoked before in his entire life but he figured '_What the hell, ain't gonna be around long enough for cancer_'

"What you up to?" She jumped up next to him to lean on the railing, grinning slyly.

"I'm going to take my own life." Marie giggled at his dead serious face.

"You wanna grab a coffee afterwards?" She obviously thought he was joking.

"I understand if you won't take this seriously but this is not a joke. Goodbye Marie. Live a pleasant life." He raised his left fist again and that's when Marie saw the bottle in Double-D's right hand.

"Oh my God, you're serious." Worry and fear replaced her amorous feelings and she considered tackling him, beating him. What the fuck was he thinking about?

"Indeed I am." His head was leaned back and he closed his eyes. He opened his mouth and was about to open his fist when he heard the one word he never thought he'd hear.

"Okay." Acceptance. His eyes shot open and he lowered both his fist and head again.

"_What_?" He saw her standing there like a wounded puppy, looking at him with heartbreaking sorrow in her eyes.

"If it's what you wanna do then I think you should do it. Who am I to stand in your way?"

"Marie, I-"He couldn't get the words out, it was like his heartbeat was disrupting the function of his vocal cords.

"But ask yourself one simple question Double-D." Her voice trembled as if she was about to start crying. "_Why_? Why do you wanna do this?"

"Because-"He had asked himself that very question. Many, many times. It had haunted him day in and day out. But now when actually thinking about it, he found the reason plain foolish. "Because I'm not loved."

"What?" She looked at him, mouth gaping in shock. "_You _not loved? You have friends, family!"

"You call a neglecting mother and father who barely acknowledge my existence love? You call the disrespecting heap of selfishness that is Eddy McGee love? You call the mindless follower Ed love? If that's love, I don't wanna live to see heartbreak!" He took a deep breath. Now, he was really ready. All he had to do was get rid of Marie.

"So, nobody loves you?"

"No. I'm... Unloved. I have parents and I have friends yet I am... Unloved."

"You don't think I love you?" He laughed at that.

"You? You've been tormenting me for years, kissing me against my will, forcing me to go on dates with you, pursuing me even though I time after time vocalize my utter displeasure of our relationship! It's nothing but a childish crush expressed in an even more childish way!" She closed her eyes midway through the sentence as if to stop the now flowing stream of tears, shaking her head.

"Incorrect." He was surprised that she knew that word. "That's what May and Lee does to Ed and Eddy, I haven't done any of those things to you in years."

"What? Of course-" He took a moment to think about it and it was true; Marie had calmed down considerably in the last few years and she hadn't actually forced Double-D to do something against his will for a couple of years. Realization hit him, whenever the Kanker sisters had been chasing the Eds' in later years, he was the only one of them to get away at all times. The answer to that was quite simple; there wasn't anybody chasing him anymore.

"And I know for a fact that this is more than a childish crush; I really do love you Double-D."

"Why would I believe that?"

"Because I once stood where you stand right now. I was ready to die. And you saved my life."


	2. II

**You drive me crazy shorty I**  
**Need to see you and feel you next to me**  
**I provide everything you need and I**  
**Like your smile I don't wanna see you cry**  
**Got some questions that I got to ask and I**  
**Hope you can come up with the answers babe**

* * *

**II**

_**If I fell off tomorrow would you still love me?**_

* * *

"This is a god damn disgrace! How the fuck couldn't they accept you?" Eddy McGee was beyond raging; he was pacing back and forth in front of Double-D's couch, his lips forming words that weren't verbalized out of anger.

"Calm down Eddy, it's not that bad." Eddward Hammer had turned into a handsome young man after an awkward phase in early high school with glasses, zits and a retainer similar to the one Jimmy had been forced to use throughout their childhood. But the usual smiling face of his was now gloomy and bitter.

"Not that bad? NOT THAT BAD? THIS IS A FUCKING SLAP TO THE- A PUNCH, A GOD DAMN PUNCH TO THE FUCKING FACE!" On the tables were the letters. Interestingly, they all arrived on the same day. He had called his girlfriend the moment he saw them in the mail; she was on her way after being in the city. His best friend Eddy McGee was next on the calling list; he arrived a lot faster of course and only moments passed before he convinced Double-D to open them.

"Look, I know that-"

"You took all the possible AP classes! And you're not only straight A, you're straight A+! Even in P.E. now!" After Double-D had described his college dream to his best friends' senior year of junior high, they had decided to whip him into shape to improve his grade in P.E.

"Well, there are a lot of-"

"Director of the science club, founder of the chess club, chairman of the god damn computer club!"

"Yes Eddy but-"

"You even sang one year for the glee club!"

"Eddy, that hardly impresses-"

"You won the national championship that year!" After a lot of hustling and conniving, Ed and Eddy had managed to schedule in extracurriculars for every free moment Double-D had sophomore year. After a lot more of bamboozling and flimflamming, they made a deal that he'd stay on all of them for at least a year. Summer before junior year, Double-D locked himself in his room and slept for a week straight.

"Eddy, it's just the way it is. I mean, there's obviously something I did wrong-"

"TO HELL YOU DID!" With that, Eddy grabbed his jacket and stormed over to the door.

"Eddy, what are you doing?"

"I'm calling every one of those damn admissions AND I'M GONNA TELL THEM WHAT'S FUCKING WHAT!" With that, he slammed the door behind him.

Double-D sighed, Eddy meant well. He was probably more disappointed than Double-D himself; if there was one thing Eddy McGee believed and had faith in, it was his friend Eddward Hammer.

He looked at the letters and couldn't help but feel... Helpless. What did the world hold for him now? What on earth was he going to do with his life now? Was this... It?

"Hey lemon curd, saw Eddy stalking off like the whole world was pissing him off, what the hell happened to him?" Even though Marie had been letting herself into his house for a good year now, Double-D still managed to be surprised.

"Hey Marie." She kicked off her shoes, walked up to the couch and kissed him before going into the kitchen. "Well, I wouldn't be surprised if he screams at an innocent bystander in his current mood..."

"Why? What's up his-"She came back with an apple she had just taken a bite out of. Marie Kanker would never claim to have an intelligence quote close to that of Double-D's but she was by no means unintelligent. The apple that fell out of her hand when she saw the envelopes was evidence enough. "They can't do this."

"Marie-"

"THEY CAN'T FUCKING DO THIS!" She stalked over to the table and grabbed the top one. "'Dear Mr. Hammer' Well, at least they're fucking polite about it!"

"I-"

"'Unfortunately, our student body has a limited-'This is fucking bullshit! There's no fucking way they can do this! You're a fucking straight A+ student!" Marie may not have realized it then but this was the second maddest she'd ever been, only her sister Lee shaving her hair while sleeping the night before her first date with Double-D ranked higher.

"Marie, Eddy already said all of this."

"Because it's all true! GOD DAMN IT, WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH THEM?"

"Marie, come here."

"NO, THIS IS-"

"Come here." Marie lowered here clenched fists in surprise; there was a certain emotion in Double-D's voice that she had never heard before. When she took a seat next to him, she could see fear in his eyes.

"Double-D, are you okay?" Now she was really worried, he was staring lifelessly at the letters and it was like the lights had gone out in his eyes.

"No." His voice was thick, like he was about to start crying. "No, I'm not. I've... I've spent over half of my current life in school and... I can't get into college." He turned his gaze to her and he made a noise that was something of a combination of an exhale and a laugh. "I slept three hours a night my entire sophomore years so I could get in where I wanted to and... Not only does my first choice not want me, my second and third choice rejected me as well." A single tear fell down his cheek and that was all it took for Marie to go too. "And... For some reason, all I can think about is you leaving me because I won't be able to educate myself and get a proper job." Her face fell and the tears stopped falling. Then she did something she never thought she'd do. She slapped him. Hard.

"How the fuck dare you think that?" She felt insulted. "Don't you know me at all? Do you really think I'll stop loving you because you're not in some fancy ass college?"

"A tad." He was a little ashamed for bringing it up now but it was the truth; he wanted to support her and give her the life she wanted to live but not lived when she was growing up.

"Fuck you." She leaned away from him and shook her head. "Fuck you Double-D." The tears returned to her eyes and her voice cracked a little. "Fuck you. Fuck me. Fuck college, fuck everything! I'd love you if you were some professor getting the Nobel Prize, I'd love you if you were teaching at the UCLA and I'd love you if you were flipping burgers at fucking Burger King!" She leaned in and grabbed his collar, staring past his eyes, straight at his soul. "**Fuck Harvard**." She kissed him. "**Fuck Yale**." She kissed him. "**Fuck MIT**." She kissed him. Long and hard. When she pulled away, Double-D was not only at a loss of breath but also at a loss of words.

"Marie, I-"

"Shut up and hold me." He wasn't going to pass up that offer so he opened his arms to let her snuggle up against his chest. Then they sat there, silently supporting each other, silently helping each other, silently loving each other.

"Marie?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you." He felt how she nodded. Raising his head, he started to stroke her hair.

"We're gonna get through this. Whatever the fuck happens along the way." And she was right. Whatever obstacles life threw at them or whatever roadblocks reality put up, they were always going to have each other. Forever.


	3. III

**You drive me crazy shorty I**  
**Need to see you and feel you next to me**  
**I provide everything you need and I**  
**Like your smile I don't wanna see you cry**  
**Got some questions that I got to ask and I**  
**Hope you can come up with the answers babe**

* * *

**III**

_**If I didn't smell so good would you still hug me?**_

* * *

"I know you." She was on her way to Double-D's house when she met said young man coming out of the forest.

"Hello Marie! I've been studying the wildlife of the Peach Creek swamps all night!" He grinned like a proud kid showing off something dead he found on the side of the road to his parents.

"My baby, smartest man around here!" She snaked her arms around him and pulled him into a loving hug.

"I was on my way home to eat something, would you like to accompany me?"

"You don't have to ask me twice!" They set off towards Double-D's house; his arm around her back and his hand resting on her hip. "And once we're done eating, what do you say we take a shower, together...?" He gulped nervously at her seductive expression.

"Uhm... I assume so..."

"Would you maybe wanna skip... The meal?" She traced her fingers up and down his chest before slowly moving it further and further downwards.

"Oh god yes." He looked like his eyeballs were going to tie themselves in a knot, Marie Kanker surely was a master of getting what she wanted.

"Good, because you smell like horseshit."**  
**


End file.
